Use discretion with family photos of nude children

Last year in Arizona, a family turned in some rolls of film to be developedafter they returned from vacation. While they were innocently waiting for thefilm to be developed, a Wal-Mart worker called the police and child protectiveservices to look at the photographs. To make a long story short, the CPS workerdecided that the photographs were provocative and since the children were nudein some of the pictures (outside the bathtub), the children were removed fromthe home - for a MONTH - while the investigation took place. Eventually, ajudge ruled that the photos were completely innocent in nature. Investigatorsfound other photos and videotape of the children running around the home nakedor in their underwear. There was NO indication whatsoever that thesephotographs were used for anything other than the enjoyment of the family. Thechildren showed no signs of being abused or that they had ever been exposed toany sort of pornography or that the parents exhibited this type of behavior - atall.

Despite all this, this family lost their children because of an overzealousWal-Mart worker and a CPS worker who apparently never took nude photos of herown child. As I heard this story on the news today and then read it againonline, I thought of all the photos in our own albums that show our newborns intheir birthday suits or the children together in the bathtub playing when theywere little. We tried to avoid anything that showed their genitals, but sincethe photos were taken in complete innocence, I can certainly relate to a familywho takes photos of their young children without clothing on every part of theirbodies.

I just thought others might appreciate this gentle reminder to be careful about the photos you take of your children. I certainly wouldn't post anythingquestionable online, but considering the current atmosphere toward parents, Iwould even be hesitant about taking these sorts of photographs and then havingthem developed at a place like Wal-Mart. You just never know when someone isgoing to take something like that the wrong way. It's sad.

If you want to read the full article, it's here: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Weekend/parents-sue-wal-mart-children-bath-time-photos\/story?id=8622696

Sonya Haskins
www.thehomeschooladvocate.com